We need to put this into context. When I talk about public schools I am talking the schools that I have either taught at or had the pleasure of observing their fantastic use of educational technologies. Yes there are public schools out there that are at the other end of the spectrum but I am basing this on my experiences and what I have observed while teaching in New Zealand.In my teaching experience in New Zealand I was a teacher at a decile 5 school. Although we were a mid-range decile school we were not well off. The examples I am going to provide are an attempt to reitterate the point that regardless of the amount of money that a school is getting, it is does not determine the effectiveness and quality of e-learning. It is dependent on the attitude the schools administration has about how important educational technologies are to their students education.As most New Zealand schools are government funded they are held accountable by the government through the Ministry of Education and the Education Review Office. They are required to meet all of the governments criteria and initiatives. In terms of e-learning and educational technologies the government has created a ICT strategy for schools, called the e-learning Action Plan. There is a streamed version of the e-learning Action Plan on this link: e-learning Action Plan VideoThe e-learning Action Plan ensures all government funded public schools are on the same age and know what is required of them. The Action Plan also provides systems of support for schools through things such as ICT Clusters to assists in creating a positive change in attitude towards technology use (Gao, Choy, Wong and Wu, 2009). An example of a low decile school doing great things with e-learning is Point England School in Auckland, New Zealand. It is a Full Primary school in a low socio-economic zoning area so it is decile 1. Here is a video that their students created:
Please visit their school website also to see some of the great e-learning they use: http://www.ptengland.school.nz/index.php?family=1,871